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Chapter 1
Kara
Mylegsareburningby the time I reach the secluded section of the garden where Rowan had found the note…the one intended to lure our grandmother into danger.
But before I even get there, the sense of wrongness overwhelms me. I can feel it in the air, taste it… The familiar tang of magic, sharp and metallic, prickles my nostrils. Tingles on my skin.
And beneath it all is something else. Something darker. The stench of decay and corruption makes my stomach churn.
No, no, no, no…
Black magic! He’s used the dark arts to take her. And although Gran is powerful, she would never resort to that to fight back. The consequences would simply be unthinkable to her. And after seeing what it did to Mia, I understand her concern.
“Gran!” I shout as I burst through the hedge to the small clearing in the garden where Rowan’s squirrel likes to hang out. There’s a towering oak in the center, the moonlight glinting of small crystal chimes in its branches. Normally, they’d be tinkling, but tonight, there’s nothing. Just a heavy stillness that seems to have descended over everything like a weighted blanket.
“Gran!” I call again, knowing already that it’s pointless. I reach the foot of the tree and tip my head back to peer into the thick branches high overhead. As if I might see her there. It’s a ridiculous gesture. I know I won’t. I know it’s too late. I don’t even know why I came out here.
Because you’re Kara Blackwood, and you don’t just sit around on your ass.
My grandmother needs my help.
I pace around the oak’s massive trunk, scanning the ground. Lucien’s too smart to leave obvious traces, but maybe… My fingers brush over the rough bark, sensing lingering traces of sorcery. Not Gran’s – something colder, darker.
“Come on, you smug bastard. You had to have left something.”
A glint catches my eye – I move closer, narrowing my focus on an item in the thick grass. It’s a small crystal bell, a charm from one of Gran’s bracelets. I reach down to pick it up. The cool crystal tingles against my fingertips, residual magic touching my skin.
“Gran…where did he take you?” I whisper, closing my hand around it as I look around me again. Anger churns in the pit of my belly. After all that man’s put this family through, to now add this to the list. I could kill him with my bare hands.
What the hell does he want from us?
Blood.
Power.
And he’s been planning this for who knows how long. Watching. Waiting. Although, now he’s getting impatient. It’s only been a day since he lured Mia out to him. Tried to get his hands on her again. Now Gran.
Don’t forget Poppy.
For a moment, I feel a small pang as I think of my sister’s familiar. Yet another pawn in Lucien Marlowe’s twisted game.
It has to end. And I’m going to end it.
First, I have to find Gran.
But where would he take her? The vampires have safe houses all over the city. Underground lairs, abandoned buildings, fancy penthouses… Lucien’s rich enough to own dozens of properties under different names.
I close my eyes, trying to think like him. He’s calculating, strategic. He wouldn’t risk keeping her anywhere obvious. Somewhere remote, maybe? Or hiding in plain sight?
A twig snaps behind me, and I whirl, hands already glowing defensively. My breath catches as Marcus Nightshade steps into the moonlit clearing, his tall frame casting a long shadow across the grass.
“What the hell do you want?” I snap, hating how my pulse quickens at the sight of him. His snug black T-shirt hugs his muscular chest in all the wrong ways, annoying me.
“Thought you might need some help,” he says in that deep, maddeningly calm voice. His eyes scan the clearing before focusing on me. The moonlight catches them, and I suddenly realize that they’re an indigo blue, so dark I’d always thought they were black.
And the reason I’m noticing his eyes right now is completely beyond me.
